The Deck: Splinters to Splended

The deck was one of the selling points of the house for us. From the moment we saw the pictures of it in the listing online we were consumed with thoughts of parties and dinners outside.

(Picture from the listing)

But first we had to take care of that splintery mess.

Every time Eli played out there I'd end up picking splinters out of his hands, top of his feet, toes, and bum. He was very patient with that process.Who knows the last time the deck had been sanded, stained, or in any way taken care of. It needed our love, and hopefully before winter.

First Seth and Jeff fixed the broken gutter that was pouring directly on the deck and down the brick wall. It was a relatively quick fix and a huge relief since it was causing a ton of damage to the brick and the wood planks. In fact, it took almost no time for one of us to step through a damaged plank- a victim of the gutter. Seth had to climb under the deck- feeling real or imagined spiders and crud creep all over him- to screw in some new supports. Words were said. Hopefully we'll have some time before other planks need to be fixed.

Next Seth spent a Saturday sanding the deck and collecting an impressive bucket of saw dust. Eli particularly liked helping to hose off the mess and use the shop vac to blow off the leaves and clean up.

 

 (Let's take a moment to love my hot red fall vine leaves)

A week or so later Seth and his cousin, Kevin, spent almost four gallons of stain and one afternoon staining the deck. It was the most beautiful October day you could dream up. After some experimenting, they perfected their technique and it came together pretty quickly. I am so thankful Seth had a helper- who was more useful than three-year-old Eli and pregnant me.

It looks so beautiful and is no longer a danger to little toes. Perhaps in the spring we'll tackle the railing (obviously tricky with the vines curled around them) and the pergola. In the mean time we hung our patio lights (we need twice as many) and I bought this fantastic beat up chandelier at the DI for three bucks. We need to rewire it, but once it's done it will be the perfect addition to our outdoor space... and someday a grand and long table too. Baby steps.

 But we did get this done in time for our first party, one week later. Our 8th Annual Pumpkin Party!

The Sandbox

We knew that once Fall classes started for Seth (and my belly got bigger) our progress on the house would seriously slow- hence the house madness that was August/September. We've done lots of small projects since then, some I've managed to photographed. All I'll put up... eventually.

For today I thought I'd show off Seth's mad skills and showcase the sandbox he and Eli (or maybe just he) built one September Saturday.  It has a lid that folds out into two bench seats. Seth installed it just outside the kitchen window so I can watch and hear Eli play with ease. Seth schemes of one day incorporating a grand tree house in that space with an escape slide and draw bridge. In the meantime, I love that sandbox- and so does Eli!

Seth based his plans off of ones like these online, making a few small changes. They took one trip to Home Depot, filled a cart full of lumber and fence slats, and then assembled, sanded, and Thompson's Water Sealed the whole thing in our garage all in one day. There it sat "drying" for a week and a half.

(Such a great helper)

We bought a few bags of play sand at Lowes- and were totally disappointed in the product. We've happily purchased play sand before but this stuff was rocky and gravely so we decided that instead of paying for more of the bagged stuff (which we needed a LOT more of since the amount we bought was... eh um.... not near enough) we'd call a guy that was selling construction sand in bulk, just up the road. One call. We asked to buy one cubic yard. He said help yourself, don't bother paying, and tell the kiddos to have fun in the sandbox. Hard to beat free so Seth spread a tarp out in the back of the fourrunner and shoveled the free- slightly less gravely sand than the expensive "play sand"- into the back. And just like that, Eli had his sandbox!